A new step in the looting cycle

Gökay Başcan

The relocation of olive groves, the occupation law, the National Parks amendment, the 2B Law, and Article 16 are accelerating plunder and looting, and now there are plans to open protected forests to mining activities.

According to a draft obtained by BirGün, a regulation change is being made in Protected Forests. Thus, following the loss of status of protected areas, forests and national parks with a single signature, protected forests are also being opened up for use by mining companies.

Of Turkey's total forest area of 23 million hectares, approximately 248,000 hectares are designated as protected forests.

According to the 18-article ‘Draft Regulation on the Separation and Management of Protected Forests,’ the way will now be paved for various activities, primarily mining, to be carried out in protected forests.

According to Article 12 in Section 5 of the draft, titled ‘Restrictions, Exceptions, Penalties and Removal of Protected Forest Status,’ while permits for Group I and II minerals under the Mining Law are not granted, permits for Group II(b), III, IV and V minerals are ‘evaluated by the General Directorate.’

In other words, with this amendment, although activities such as quarrying and gravel extraction will be prohibited, permits may be granted for all metallic minerals, primarily gold, as well as for coal, lignite, oil and natural gas projects.

The removal of forest protection statuses one by one by the AKP has revealed that the country is being run by a handful of mining company lobbyists.

THE LAW HAS BEEN EMPTIED

The Forest Law No. 6831 was published in the Official Gazette in 1956 and entered into force.

The law, which was prepared with the aim of protecting, developing and sustainably managing the country's forests, has been largely emptied of its content during the AKP era.

Forests have now become areas that can lose their status with a single signature and be transferred to companies in thousands of hectares.

TURNING POINT: APPENDIX 16

Article 16 of the Forest Law No. 6831, issued in 2018 and criticised for being unconstitutional, is seen as a milestone that increased the destruction of forests.

With a single signature by AKP President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, areas that have lost their forest status and turned into ordinary land are being destroyed one by one.

Almost every week in the Official Gazette, new areas are stripped of their forest status on the grounds that ‘it is not beneficial to preserve them as forests from a scientific and technical perspective.’ The Forest Parks Regulation, which came into force in 2022, also paved the way for similar destruction. Under this regulation, forest parks can be leased for up to 20 years through a closed bidding process.

The Mining Law and the Bill on Amendments to Certain Laws, which came into force in July and is described as an ‘occupation law’ by environmentalists, academics and experts, is seen as the beginning of the occupation of the country's land.

The law, which paves the way for the removal and plundering of olive groves, has also increased the pressure for construction in forests.

With this step, which eliminates all legal regulations protecting green areas, the way has been completely opened for plundering.

Following the law, the activities of national and international mining companies across the country have gained momentum.

NATIONAL PARKS AND OTHER PROTECTED AREAS

After forests and olive groves, all green areas with high protection status have also become targets.

The AKP regime did not forget the National Parks either. The ‘National Parks Law and Proposed Amendments to Certain Laws,’ which was approved by the Turkish Grand National Assembly's Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Affairs Committee 15 days ago, envisages opening national parks and nature parks to tourism, accommodation and infrastructure investments.

The proposal, which is expected to come before the General Assembly soon, will further accelerate the plundering and pillaging of national parks. Archaeological sites, olive groves, protected natural areas, forest parks, national parks and now conservation forests are being handed over to allied capitalists by the AKP.

WHAT IS A CONSERVATION FOREST?

According to Articles 23–24 of the Forest Law No. 6831, conservation forests are forests designated primarily for protection rather than production, with the aim of preventing hazards such as erosion, avalanches, floods, and landslides, and protecting water resources, soil, and wildlife.

The principles of designation and management are regulated in the ‘Regulation on the Designation and Management of Conservation Forests’.

According to official statistics published in 2020, there are approximately 247,707 hectares of conservation forest in 54 separate regions across Türkiye.

Note: This article is translated from the original article titled Talan zincirinde yeni bir halka, published in BirGün newspaper on October 31, 2025.